Albuquerque man found dead in forest

Daily Press Correspondent
A 24-year-old Albuquerque man who disappeared more than a week ago was found dead in the Gila National Forest over the weekend.

The man disappeared from his parents’ home June 17, Marc Levesque, a search and rescue field coordinator with the New Mexico State Police, told the Daily Press.

His vehicle was first noticed parked at the overlook past Copperas Peak on Highway 15 on June 20, but State Police didn’t begin an investigation until the night of June 22, when they connected it to the man’s missing person report.

A search and rescue mission started at 6 a.m. Friday and lasted all day, ending around 5 p.m.

“On Friday, we had about 20 people working the mission,” Levesque said.

The mission continued at 6 a.m. Saturday — with several dog and ground teams working — and the man’s body was found just before 9 a.m. between Highway 15 and the East Fork of the Gila River.

At the scene, rescuers found two loaded pistols next to the subject’s body. The incident has not officially been ruled a suicide, Levesque said, and the body was removed Saturday afternoon, he said. The scene was cleared by 5 p.m.

Levesque credited the rescuers for battling through the weather conditions during the search.

“Friday was extremely hot up there,” he said. “The searchers had to work under some extreme conditions. Saturday, they had to deal with thunderstorms, and the terrain was pretty rugged.”

The incident is still under investigation and the man’s body will be taken to the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for an autopsy.

*This story has been edited to correct an error which appeared in the print version of this story, incorrectly reporting that the Albuquerque Police began the investigation. They did not. It was State Police. The Daily Press regrets the error.